Time
by Savvyzzzz The Awesome Ninja
Summary: The years passed her by, the minutes ticked away, and the regret became greater and greater. If she could, she would've gone back in time just to see him again. She tried to imagine instances when he could've come back in those fifteen years. Those instances could have been reality, but he made her wait and time passed her by. (Long Drabbles)
1. Chapter 1

All those years waiting, waiting patiently and consciously, had been for nothing. She tried to hope. That's all she could so right? At the age of twenty-five, waiting for this long was starting to get childish. Waiting this long, wasting this much time, had it been for nothing? The years had passed by in a blur and the years of her youth gone with the wind. Adulthood, before she knew it, surrounded her and whisked her in an unknown world without bathhouses and dragons.

High school came and went, her friends had come and gone. She wished that maybe, just maybe, she could've spent that time with some of her friends or doing things she had so wanted to do. This young woman wasn't into material items of sorts, her life could have been bereft of them, and nothing wouldn't have mattered. She would have wasted all the time she had back then on waiting for her dragon and doing the things she loved.

Time, it was a precious thing, a thing that only flowed in one direction and never went back. It held memories that could either be remembered or forgotten, that was for the person to decide. She wished that time would go back, go back to the time she had at the bathhouse, but even she knew, time didn't flow backwards.

So now, that is why she had this regret of wasting all that time. If he would've come, that doubt would've never came. She knew deep down though that this regret was simply something of her imagination. The young woman knew she would continue to wait for him. Continue to wait for him until time would end, but for now, she had to get home, continue on with the life she had, not the one she dreamed of.

And with the time it took her to get home, she would still think of him. The time he could have been with her, the time she had lost waiting.


	2. Chapter 2: In The End

She stood at the balcony as the sun rose. The twenty-five year old sipped her tea and watched patiently for the birth of a new day. Here she remembered back, back to when she was eleven. Half a year had passed since she had visited the bathhouse at that age. Chihiro was sure he was going to come back then, he couldn't have made her wait more than six months, right?

* * *

She was eleven now and it seemed like all the moving her family had done happened yesterday. Chihiro had never wanted to move really, her parents had to actually coerce her out of their old town. The car drive to their new home had been filled with whines and cries; however, in the end, it had been the best situation to have ever occurred.

But the best instance to happen to her, had now made her the saddest she had ever been. He said they would meet again, he promised. Although, Chihiro didn't think it would be six long months and no sign of Haku at all. She skipped out on outings with friends to go to the dead river to see if she could see him. The young girl would call out his name for the wind to carry it to his ears, but in the end, a response never came. Chihiro even left during her own birthday party to check if he was going to come wish her a happy birthday. She had spent every night since she had left the bathhouse looking up at the stars hoping, praying and waiting for her dragon to come back.

Even though she was still eleven, still a kid in the eyes of society, the young girl knew she was in love with Haku. There was no doubt in her mind about the feelings she had for the dragon. In the end, Chihiro would do anything to see those green eyes again.

The eleven year old stood quietly now, watching the sunrise, a sad expression covering her face. She had been crying, she didn't know why, but she had been. Probably because she had been wishing that she could just wake up and see the expression of the boy she saw six months back. The sky was a messy canvas at the moment, mixed colors streaking into the endless boundaries of the horizon. Oranges and pinks mixed to create a picture that could not be described in human words. It was a piece of heaven, a small piece of heaven they humans were aloud to see.

And there before her eyes she spotted something flying on the horizon. It's tail flowing behind it and what look like feathers gracefully caught the wind. Chihiro leaned forward and gripped the edge of the balcony, her expression full of hope. The young girl opened her mouth and screamed into the wind.

"HAKU!"

Chihiro's voice carried out, the wind taking it into the everlasting horizon, but the creature flying on the horizon made no notion to look. It continued flying and was gone as quickly as it had come. Chihiro stood there, screaming her lungs out, soon tears trailing down her face.

In the end, it was just an instance, one which she wouldn't see Haku.

In the end, one that would leave her waiting.

In the end, one that would leave her lonely.

* * *

The twenty-five year old remained on her balcony and tears streamed down her face.

"Time," she said laughed softly. "The one thing I love the most, brings me the most sadness."


	3. Chapter 3 The New Kid

A year and a half, she thought to herself. Had it really been that long? Chihiro walked back to her house considering school had ended a little while ago. She glanced up at the sky to see a perfectly painted picture; the pure blue sky with streaks of white fluttering by. A slow breeze also drifted past as well, and the temperature seemed to be just right, as it did warm her skin sending that soothing feeling coursing through her body.

Now at the age of twelve, and in this new town, she had learned a lot of things in the past year. Yes, she was still young in the eyes of society, but she had been through more than an average twelve year old should've been through. A year and a half ago she was whisked away to a land full of dragons, witches and creatures never seen by the human eye. It was an experience she wouldn't forget, and in the end, how could she?

And bringing those memories back was a new kid at school. He had the same features as Haku, almost exactly like Haku. When he first walked into her classroom,Chihiro almost screamed out his name, but kept herself sitting quickly, instead of causing pandemonium throughout the room.

Chihiro's heart sank when she heard his name wasn't what she hoped it would be. Then again, could she really expect him to show up at her school? A soft laugh escaped her lips as she continued to walk home. The twelve year old knew now that life was definitely playing tricks on her, bringing boys to her school that looked like Haku. Life wanted her to feel this pain?


	4. Chapter 4 Please Wait

Thirteen, the age you're officially a teenager. The age you can finally go out and do the things "teenagers" could do, and not have your parents creeping down your back. This was how Chihiro felt the day after her birthday and the months to follow. She felt like she could take on the world, but then again, age was just only a number. And just like age was a number, so were the years that passed her by.

Even though Chihiro could still count the number of years on her fingers since she had been to the spirit world, the years felt like eons. Every minute of every day, even every moment, something had to always remind the thirteen year old of the world that was soon disappearing into her past. No matter how old Chihiro got, those thoughts would never be pushed away.

And never pushing them away meant she would constantly be reminded of them; Of how it felt to ride on the back on the one she loved, to feel the magic pulsating in the air, to see see the bathhouse towering over the endless ocean and into the beyond.

"You'll never be forgotten," she whispered and headed back into her house.

* * *

A few feet from where she had been standing a figure watched her, a small smile crept on his face. His transparent hand to reached out to beckon her to stay outside, but it was no use, both of them were from different worlds, life would not allow the same accident to happen more than once.

"It's good to know you're doing good, Chihiro." The sad smile spread across his face. "Just please wait."


	5. Chapter 5 They're Wrong

Four years and time was still flowing as it had always been. Never stopping for anyone; aging people as it continued to pass by, carrying the memories that it had seen, and stealing the minutes away you wanted to keep. It was your best friend and your worst enemy.

Being fourteen hadn't been a lot of time for some people, but for Chihiro it seemed like an eternity. And just time itself seemed to be flowing slow today. She glanced at the clock on the side wall to see that it was barely nine o'clock. The fourteen year old let out a sigh and zoned back into the lecture her global teacher had been giving the class. It wasn't anything that interested her really. Chihiro's mind would drift in and out to hear pieces of the teacher's low voice cutting through.

"Chihiro, are you paying attention?"

Chihiro suddenly raised her head and looked at the teacher who was staring at her, as was the the rest of the class. Chihiro immediately and just tried to concur with her teacher so the prying eyes would leave.

"Then do not close your eyes please. Okay, back to the lesson. Does anyone know about the Kohaku River?"

The fourteen year old ears perked up slightly, as did her eyes, at the sudden mention of the Kohaku River. All the other kids in the room shrugged and looked at one another. None of them had heard of the river, maybe one or two did, but the rest of the class was silent. The teacher took this as a no and began to lecture about the river and the powerful river god that used to reign over it.

Chihiro's teacher described a furious god who had no mercy for those who polluted his waters. He would pick them off with ease for the sake of protecting his river. Chihiro sat there and listened and sighed. These people knew nothing about Haku, he was nothing like the teacher described him as.

He was strong, but soft-hearted. Not a heartless monster who killed those who came near. She knew he would defend his river when he had been alive, but she could never picture him as a ruthless, cold monster.

If only he was there to tell them all that they were wrong.


	6. Chapter 6 Doubt

She had just turned fifteen today actually, she had finally become fifteen. Chihiro had been waiting for this day for the last six months. She had promised herself that today was the day she would go back and visit the red tunnel she hadn't been to in five red tunnel that was the boundary between her bountiful life and the luscious life she missed so much.

Chihiro now stood in front of it, a small smile plastered on her face, but there was also some doubt in her heart. What would happen if she went through? Would she see Haku again or would there be nothing there? As if Chihiro's life depended on it, she took a few languidly steps forward, bringing her into the darkness of the tunnel.

This time she had no one to hold onto, so the journey was her's alone. There was still that doubt in her head but no matter what she kept pushing forward. Her smooth hand glided over the aged walls so she wouldn't lose her way. The fifteen year old girl walked lie this for a few minutes, but a light appeared at the tunnel. The light she hadn't seen in five years was now in range, Chihiro's hand could almost touch it.

As she exited the tunnel, her eyes were closed and she breathed in the air. The air was comforting in a way and a sense of peace consumed her, and tears started to snake out of the corners of the teenagers eyes. Chihiro was hesitant to open to eyes, to see the reality she had known was still true, but she opened anyway and was met with a dead river. A dead river and a ghost town filled with nothing, a huge gaping hole of nothingness.

"I wish," she whispered. "That Haku would come back to me, please."


	7. Chapter 7 Sorrow

Her sixteenth birthday was spent mourning the death of her mother, her mother had died the night before. Was this what life thought was a birthday present? Chihiro remembered walking into the room to bid her mother goodnight, but found a cold, pale body. The constant shaking that came from Chihiro's trembling hands was not enough to awake her mother from her permanent hibernation. Hey pain filled tears covered the white sheets that laid over the still body. Her mother had been six for months, but she had been brought home just a week before because the doctors said it was best if she spent her last days at home.

Chihiro had cried so hard when she saw her mother as she was brought through the door just a week before. How limp her body had been, the skin covering her body as thin as paper, but despite that, a smile was splayed upon her mother's face as she looked in her daughter's eyes. Chihiro wished that life hadn't been so cruel and her mother's smile remained imprinted in as the sixteen year old stared at the grave.

Cries escaped her lips, but she didn't care because no one was around, it didn't matter who heard her anyway. The pain that was coursing through the sixteen year old's body was too much to hold in. So far, she had lost two people in life now: Her mother and Haku. Chihiro knew Haku was never coming back, she was sure of it, but why was she thinking about him now when she should've been thinking of her mother? It was because her mother would probably end up where Haku was. At the thought of that, a small smile crept up on Chihiro's face. Her mother and Haku meeting? What a completely ridiculous, yet funny, situation.

If only both of them were here now, her life would've been a bit more happy, instead of the pain that was visible before her.


	8. Chapter 8 Revived

Turning seventeen didn't seem to make things much different. That day was rather boring for Chihiro, except for the miracle that happened. Somehow, the once dead Kohaku River, was found to have some water trickling through it. When Chihiro heard the news, it didn't seem to make sense in her mind, but she had to see it for herself.

When she walked through that old amusement park and looked at the covered river and saw water droplets traveling through its grave, a small smile spread across her face. This overwhelming feeling overcame her heart for a moment, that maybe, just maybe, she could see Haku again. But above that, that he would have a new chance at life. That he would have something to live for.

_'Chihiro'_

Her head swerved around, but was met with nothing except the soft howling of the wind. Clouds slowly rolled across the sky and the sun showed across the wavering grass upon ground. There was not a person in sight, but Chihiro felt someone there, like someone was standing right there behind her. Chihiro wanted to see who this person was, but for now, she knew it was best if she didn't. Chihiro didn't want to get her hopes up after all, right?


	9. Chapter 9 Stepping Forward

Being eighteen, it was nothing different really. By some standards she was an adult, but by others, she was still a child. Although, that was none of her concerns. Just a few days ago she had graduated, and a weird feeling had fallen upon her. Chihiro had this odd sense of freedom, as if a burden had been lifted off her chest. There would be no more worries of schoolwork or hearing her parents nagging her about handing in assignments on time.

In the end, graduation was just the start of a new adventure for Chihiro. She would venture off into the world and start her own adventure; however, there was still on adventure she had not completed yet. She was still determined that the lost world of her dreams existed, and that feeling had grown even stronger over the years.

She now stood at her doorstep, staring at the blue endless sky. The years were passing her by now, but she would make it back to the world that left her eight years ago. A slight chuckle escaped her lips and Chihiro swiped a stray piece of hair out her face.

"I'll be back soon," Chihiro whispered. "I'll see you face again, Haku. That is a promise I won't break."

And with that she stepped off the steps of her porch and stepped into a new adventure. She would find where she left her heart, and nothing would be able to stop her, not even time itself.


	10. Chapter 10 Continuing

Being nineteen was easier said then done. It had been a year since she graduated, and nothing had been going as planned. Chihiro stayed in the same small town, and went to college in a town a few miles from her house. She had vowed that she would find the place where her heart belonged, but life didn't want to take her route of choice.

Chihiro wasn't really interested in studying science or how the world worked, but her parents had forced her to venture out in the world. They didn't want Chihiro wandering around in her useless games anymore. They loved their daughter, but they wanted the best for her.

Chihiro loved her parents to death, but she had made her mind up a year ago. She was going to find that special place she held dear to her. The wind passed her by as she rushed down the dirt path towards the tunnel. A voice seemed to whisper to her, urging her to keep coming. And so, the nineteen year old continued to listen to that voice and it brought her through the darkness that would soon lead her to the light.


End file.
